{"id":95073,"date":"2026-09-16T21:13:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T02:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/?p=95073"},"modified":"2026-09-17T03:21:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T08:21:37","slug":"sander-levin-storied-michigan-jewish-democrat-endorses-abdul-el-sayed-in-senate-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/sander-levin-storied-michigan-jewish-democrat-endorses-abdul-el-sayed-in-senate-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Sander Levin, storied Michigan Jewish Democrat, endorses Abdul El-Sayed in Senate race"},"content":{"rendered":"

By ANDREW LAPIN<\/p>\n

(JTA) \u2014 Retired U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, a decades-long mainstay of Michigan Jewish Democratic politics, endorsed Abdul El-Sayed for Senate on Tuesday night despite what he called \u201csignificant disagreement\u201d on Israel.<\/p>\n

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U.S. Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI) (2nd L) shares a moment with his son Rep.-elect Andy Levin (D-MI) (3rd L), who will succeed him in the 116th Congress, with Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) (L), and Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) (R) on Capitol Hill. (Alex Wong\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Levin, 95, called for \u201call Michiganders of conscience\u201d to vote for El-Sayed amid fierce divisions among Michigan\u2019s Jewish voters and Democratic leaders on whether to back the Democratic nominee. Jewish voters have objected to El-Sayed\u2019s reluctance to back a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, among other issues. <\/p>\n

The state\u2019s two Democratic senators, including Jewish moderate Elissa Slotkin, are also calling on their colleagues to help El-Sayed, according to a report in Semafor. The other senator is Gary Peters, who is retiring. El-Sayed is running to succeed him.<\/p>\n

El-Sayed\u2019s nomination has roiled Jewish Democrats in the state. Some, including   Congressional candidate Jeremy Moss, have held off on endorsing him. Others have said that while Jewish misgivings about El-Sayed are well founded, the threat of an unchecked President Donald Trump is greater and Jewish voters should put their own worries aside to vote for him \u2014 a recommendation Attorney General Dana Nessel made at a recent Jewish gathering.<\/p>\n

Michigan is seen as a must-win for Democrats in their hopes of seizing control of the Senate from Republicans and instituting checks on Trump.<\/p>\n

Much of the Jewish concern about El-Sayed\u2019s candidacy has to do with his past association with left-wing anti-Israel streamer Hasan Piker. El-Sayed appeared Tuesday night in a scheduled debate on local TV at which his GOP opponent, Mike Rogers, did not show. Once again El-Sayed denounced Piker\u2019s recent remarks suggesting that pro-Israel advocacy made American Jews targets for violence.<\/p>\n

Levin, a member of a powerful political family in the state, served in Congress in a district representing a heavily Jewish suburban Detroit community from 1983 to 2019. His son Andy Levin, who succeeded him in the House and served two terms, has positioned himself to his father\u2019s left on Israel. The younger Levin has been El-Sayed\u2019s most prominent in-state Jewish backer since the primary. Sander Levin\u2019s brother Carl, who died in 2021, served in the Senate for 36 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have some significant disagreement with Abdul in his approach to the conflict involving Israel and the Palestinians,\u201d Sander Levin wrote in a statement on X. \u201cI have been a strong proponent of a two-state solution to that crisis and he has not supported this approach. Yet, as I reflect, I must say that I have had disagreements with many colleagues in the House and Senate over the decades, but I have never failed to support the full Democratic ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n

Levin went on to highlight areas on which he and the former county health director agree, including climate policy, labor issues, health care and housing. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am confident Dr. Abdul El-Sayed will be a strong advocate for these goals,\u201d he wrote, criticizing what he called the GOP\u2019s \u201cterrible anti-Muslim bigotry\u201d and saying Republicans were \u201clurching towards authoritarianism.\u201d<\/p>\n

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US Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan Abdul El-Sayed poses for a photo at the Labor Day parade in Detroit, Michigan on September 7, 2026. (Jeff Kowalsky \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

His message came a few days after a group of national Jewish Democrats, including his son Andy, published their own endorsement of El-Sayed. Other signatories included former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, former American Jewish World Service CEO Ruth Messinger, and Michigan-based former federal officials Margo Schlanger and Samuel Bagenstos.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost Jewish Americans have values that align with Dr. El-Sayed\u2019s principled commitments that are the centerpiece of his campaign,\u201d the letter states, further arguing that the candidate\u2019s positions on Israel and Iran \u201care much less outside the mainstream of the contemporary foreign-policy debate than some of the charged rhetoric surrounding his candidacy might suggest.\u201d<\/p>\n

El-Sayed\u2019s primary opponent Rep. Haley Stevens, who had been backed by a number of pro-Israel Jews in the state, also endorsed him soon after the primary. <\/p>\n

Despite the endorsements, El-Sayed\u2019s nomination continues to divide the state\u2019s estimated 100,000 Jewish voters, even following apologies the candidate has given for his earlier comments about the attack on Temple Israel in the state. <\/p>\n

Hundreds of Jews in Michigan have publicly pledged to vote for Rogers, and yard signs in Jewish neighborhoods encourage votes for Rogers \u201cagainst antisemitism.\u201d A coalition of Michigan rabbis, meanwhile, have urged El-Sayed to respond to what they deem \u201cnon-negotiables\u201d for a dialogue with Jewish leaders.<\/p>\n

The candidate has yet to respond directly to the rabbis\u2019 petition. But during the Tuesday night appearance, El-Sayed offered a more direct condemnation of Piker, whom he\u2019d previously distanced himself from following Piker\u2019s comments last month suggesting that pro-Israel Jewish Americans were turning themselves into targets.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d El-Sayed told Fox 2 Detroit in response to a viewer question about whether he would \u201c100 percent disavow offensive comments made by Hasan Piker.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cWhen Hasan made these comments about Jewish Americans and Jewish Michiganders, I disavowed them entirely.\u201d He went on, \u201cThe reason I talk to Hasan isn\u2019t because of Hasan. It\u2019s because of the three million people who pay attention to what he has to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement, Rogers\u2019 communications director accused the scheduled debate\u2019s moderator, Roop Raj, of \u201cbias\u201d and linked him to Piker, saying he was \u201ccelebrated by Hasan Piker as \u2018my GOAT\u2019.\u201d Rogers told CBS News Detroit the candidates would debate at two other dates in October.<\/p>\n

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